Former Justice Ministry official tried

Lu Enguang, a former senior official with the Ministry of Justice stood trial on Wednesday facing bribery charges.

Lu, former head of the political department of the Ministry of Justice, is accused of bribing government workers with more than 12.7 million yuan ($2 million) to provide fake information regarding his age, his family members, his education and employment background and documents to join the Communist Party of China, obtain an honorary title and promotions between 1992 and 2016, the prosecutor said at the trial in Anyang Intermediate People's Court in Henan province.

He also sought benefits for four enterprises under his control by bribing and asking his employees to bribe government workers between 1996 and 2016. The bribes amounted to more than 7.9 million yuan, according to the prosecutor.

Lu started his career in the ministry in May 2009 as deputy head of the political division. He was head of the department from November 2015 until he was placed under investigation in December 2016.

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said earlier in a statement that Lu was found to have used money, personal connections and lobbying to "buy official positions and honorary titles along the way", which enabled him to rise "from a private enterprise owner to a vice-ministerial-level official". Also, he had been simultaneously acting as an official and a businessman.

The court decided to announce the verdict at a later date.